52 Lives

#222 Sarah

Request: Donations / Gifts / Messages

This week, we’d like to help a single mum and her 3 children from Northern Ireland who are going through an incredibly tough time.

Sarah's mum has dementia and her dad has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has been given just months to live. On top of all of this, one of Sarah's children has autism, which has brought a lot of challenges...just getting him to school in time for her to get to work is a daily struggle.

Since her mum fell ill, Sarah's dad has been her main source of support - emotional, practical and financial. His cancer diagnosis has devastated the entire family.

Sarah said: "Our world fell apart. He's everything to us and mum doesn't even know he's terminally ill, as we'd have to remind her every day."

Sarah is struggling. She is now caring for her father and her 3 children, while also working part-time.

Two of her children have birthdays coming up, and neither has mentioned it. Sarah said she thinks they know how much pressure she's under and don't want to add to her worries.

We would love to do something kind for Sarah and her children. We want to give them all the basics they need, as well as some special birthday presents.

What We Need

1. Donations: Most of the things Sarah needs for her children are not available on Amazon, so we have only set up a small wishlist this week with a few gift cards. Instead, we would like to use donations to directly buy the things they need (this also means we receive gift aid, which adds to the help we are able to give them) . Your donations will be put towards buying new beds and mattresses for 2 of her children, clothing, as well as birthday and Christmas gifts. 100% of what you give will be used to help this family.

2. Gifts from Amazon: I know many of you prefer buying Amazon gifts, so we have set up a small Amazon wishlist with some gift cards, which Sarah will use to buy some of the things the children need. To buy a gift card from Amazon, please click the link below.

3. Messages of support: Sarah has so much to deal with at the moment, and we would love to send her some supportive messages to let her know that she is not alone. To send a message, please write it in the form below (your contact details will not be passed along), or you can post a message to 52 Lives (Life # 222), PO Box 3154, Reading, RG1 9AT.

BUY A GIFT

What We Did

Every single item was bought from the children’s birthday wishlists and we raised over £2000 in donations! We also had lovely offers of gifts, birthday cakes...and so many cards and messages. 100% of what you donated is being used to help this family. We have bought gift cards to cover their food bills for a little while, and will be helping with other living expenses as well.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped in some way. Sarah’s dad was only given months to live, and your kindness will mean she can spend time with her family without having the constant stress of money hanging over her head.

“We have had the most amazing couple of days...this week it was my daughter’s 18th, my son’s 14th and it’s my mum’s birthday today. We had a lovely family dinner – guilt-free! I felt so privileged to be able to have a lovely dinner and not worry whether I could afford food shopping the same week. For that alone I am ever so grateful! The messages in the parcels were the first thing I read ... they gave me so much hope. There is no limit to your kindness.” ~ Sarah.